WASHINGTON--The decrepit Douglas Branch of the CTA's Blue Line
would receive a major overhaul under a $315 million deal to be
announced in Chicago today.

"We are very excited about this new full funding grant agreement
for Chicago," Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said on
Thursday. "I know one of the lines we are going to be funding is the
Douglas line, and that's one of the older lines in the country.

"My understanding is . . . that the speed along that particular
stretch is very, very slow, which . . . makes it less efficient than
it could be," Slater said.

Congress still must appropriate the money, but in practice, having
the CTA's application approved by the Transportation Department means
"you are first in line of the people who the administration has given
approval to," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.

Members of the Illinois congressional delegation and CTA officials
have for years tried to get money for the six-mile Douglas Blue Line,
built between1895 and 1912. Because of poor track conditions, trains
on the Loop-to-Cicero line have been traveling 15 mph instead of the
usual 55 mph.